Interview with Jonathan Parker, Founder of Foodie Social Networking Site Foodari

By tikichris Last edited 181 months ago
Interview with Jonathan Parker, Founder of Foodie Social Networking Site Foodari

LOND-2009.02.20 - Fodari jonathan parker.jpg

Here’s a quick interview with Jonathan Parker, founder of the recipe-rich and cookery-wise social networking site Foodari. Jonathan reckons Foodari (dubbed a “The 21st century cookbook” by The Guardian) offers its members the “ultimate cookery experience on the web.” How’s that? Let’s find out!

What is Foodari, how long has it been around and how did you get the idea for it?

Foodari is a food and cookery social network where members can swap and share recipes, cooking ideas or you just find some great recipes shared by others. It was launched last January and has been growing pretty quickly since then. Essentially we want to show people how easy and enjoyable cooking and eating good food can be and also show where food is from and what is in season.

Foodari claims to be the social network for foodies. How do you achieve this goal and what benefit do foodies gain from joining your site?

We really leave it to our members to define what they want. For example we have changed and evolved to focus a lot more on local, seasonal food and cooking as this is what our community wants. We simply give people the tools to create their virtual kitchen, save recipes to their cookery book and communicate their ideas with each other. It is the quality of our members that makes it a foodie network! I think the main practical benefit is that you can store all of your recipes, both your own and recipes from other websites, all in one place - forget those scraps of paper in the kitchen!

What about wannabe foodies (people that know what they like but not so much how to make it or where to get the ingredients)? Is there a place on Foodari for them to grow and learn?

Yes. We really want to show that you don’t need to be the Gordon Ramsay or have huge amounts of time to cook good, healthy food. Good food should be accessible to all. There is all sorts of advice on the site and of course most of it is from other users, real people you can connect with. The other unique feature is that you can tag recipes however you like, so you don’t just have to search by ingredient but other descriptive terms like easy, dinner party hot or February.

Would you describe yourself as a foodie? What, indeed, is a true foodie in your opinion?

Yes I would because I am truly passionate about food, from where it comes from to how you eat it. What’s a foodie? I’d say someone that cares and takes an interest in food - it’s as simple as that, I don’t think food needs to be complicated...just think of a well-cooked steak!

What is Foodari Direct?

Foodari Direct is a food home shopping site. As I’ve mentioned we want to make good food accessible to all so we are bringing the best locally sourced food combined with kitchen cupboard essentials altogether on Foodari Direct. You can pretty much do your entire weekly shop, online in one place and have it delivered to your doorstep in the knowledge that it is locally sourced and of traceable provenance. Plus our prices are in line with the major supermarkets and in fact if you eat seasonal produce you can make huge savings on what you would spend on your supermarket shop.

Any tips for living a more delicious life in London?

Choose carefully! There is loads of great food to buy and restaurants to visit offering a wide variety of cultures and cuisines...we really are so lucky, but choose carefully as there is so many sub standard outlets that are there to fleece you!

Find out more about Jonathan and Foodari at http://foodari.com.

Image courtesy of Jonathan Parker

Last Updated 20 February 2009